Top Five Really Unofficial SXSW Showcases

IMAGE: Matthew Singer

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Drunk Kid Waiting for the Late-Night BusHe started his set by staggering into the street, where he
came nail-bitingly close to getting hit by a car. Narrowly surviving
the trip to the other side, he interpretive danced to the accompaniment
of a bucket drummer, before grabbing the sticks for some arrhythmic
pounding of his own. Now that’s showmanship!

Old Guy on BusRocking shades, a Kangol hat, several dozen necklaces and
giant headphones, he serenaded the bus heading downtown with 45 minutes
of soul classics. He may have been a Blind Boy of Alabama, but that is
unconfirmed.

The Yeah BabiesThis electro soul-rock combo from Columbus, Ohio, had the
most cumbersome setup of all the street performers: bass, drums and a
four-sided rig carrying multiple keyboards, a drum machine, amps and a
PA system. If the thing also morphed, Transformer-like, into a tour van,
I wouldn’t have been surprised.

Clothing Store DJHe set up in the storefront’s window and spun hip-hop and
dancehall, attracting a small, curbside mob of bikini-topped dancers. It
was the only party on 6th Street without a line, so why not?

Two Strangers on a BenchOne was a bedraggled, possible Vietnam vet. The other had a
VIP badge around his neck. Spontaneously, while waiting for a bus, they
began trading lines from the blues classic “Black Betty.” Of course,
the former kept singing long after the latter returned to checking his
phone, but they had a real human connection there for a minute.MORE: See WW’s South by Southwest coverage at wweek.com/sxsw.